Won’t you be my neighbor?

5 ways to be a more involved Tampa Bay resident

Neighbors watch a presentation at a Central Oak Park meeting. | Photo via the City of St. Petersburg

Ready to become the Mister Rogers of Seminole Heights...or Kenwood... or Ybor City?

The new year is the perfect time to refocus + create new routines. If one of those resolutions is to become a more engaged Tampa Bay resident, we have a few ideas on ways to participate and give back for a healthier community.

🗣️ Join the conversation

One of the best ways to stay in the know and make your voice heard is by attending city council or county meetings. Tampa, St. Pete, and Clearwater all also stream online, so you can tune in while making dinner or wrapping up work.

🏠 Learn

Connect with local history through the Tampa Bay History Center or the St. Petersburg Museum of History and their many exhibits. For example, on Wednesday, Feb. 15, register for Florida Conversations, where you can learn about the history of Carver City + Lincoln Gardens.

🫂 Connect

Still need to meet your neighbors, or want to diversify the friend group? Tampa Bay has dozens of thriving neighborhood associations. Consider stopping by a monthly meeting. Check out events and more for Hillsborough, Pinellas, or Clearwater.

🌊 Volunteer

Get outdoors and enjoy Tampa Bay or the Hillsborough River, or one of our many water bodies, all while helping our community by keeping them clean. Sign up to aid Tampa Bay Watch with oyster restoration or for a monthly cleanup day at Crescent Lake. Not an outdoorsy person? Here’s 20 more options for investing in our area — from delivering meals to becoming a volunteer guardian ad litem.

🎫 Attend a new event

Deviate from your weekly routine and stop by a new event — like the Market at Water Street or attending Localtopia — and be sure to represent Tampa Bay. We recommend trying out neighborhood or historic home tours, like the West Tampa Walking Tour.

P.S. you’re already doing a great job. Reading about your city every morning is an important part of staying involved in the place you love.

Let us know — what are some of your favorite ways to be involved in our community?

Click here to have your event featured.

Today, Jan. 23

The Radio Theatre Project | Monday, Jan. 23 | 7-8:30 p.m. | The Studio@620, 620-1st Ave. S., St. Petersburg | $10-$15 | Local performers dazzle with mysterious tales and whacky characters.
Movie on the Lawn | Monday, Jan. 23 | 7-8:45 p.m. | Armature Works, 1910 N. Ola Ave., Tampa | Free | Don your pirate gear for this showing of “Pirates of the Caribbean.”
“Crimes of the Heart” | Monday, Jan. 23-Sunday, Feb. 5 | 7-9 p.m. | American Stage Theatre Company at Raymond James Theater, 163 Third St. N., St. Petersburg | $35 | The Pulitzer Prize-winning play follows Mississippi sisters through good and bad times.

Tuesday, Jan. 24

Wine & Design | Tuesday, Jan. 24 | 5:30-8 p.m. | The James Museum, 150 Central Ave., St. Petersburg | $35-$45 | Artist Stacy Stockdale teaches attendees how to make linocut Valentines.
Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Minnesota Wild | Tuesday, Jan. 24, Friday, Mar. 10 | 7 p.m. | Amalie Arena, 401 Channelside Dr., Tampa | $38.25-$800 | Head over to Amalie to watch the Lightning take on the Minnesota squad.

Wednesday, Jan. 25

Sur La Table Class | Wednesday, Jan. 25 | 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. | Hyde Park Village, 1602 W. Swann Ave., Tampa | $89 | Learn how to whip up your own fresh pasta + multiple types of stuffing.
SEO Workshop & Wine Tasting | Wednesday, Jan. 25 | 6-8 p.m. | The Blind Tiger Cafe SOHO, 934 S. Howard Ave., Tampa | $25 | Dive into best SEO practices, network with other local professionals, and sample some vino.
Absolute Queen Tribute | Wednesday, Jan. 25 | The Straz Center for the Performing Arts, 1010 N. MacInnes Pl., Tampa | $41.38-$66.10 | Absolute Queen performs all of the legendary band’s huge hits.

Thursday, Jan. 26

The Holocaust: From Trauma to Healing | Thursday, Jan. 26 | 7-8 p.m. | Tombolo Books, 2153 1st Ave. S., St. Petersburg | Free | Authors and daughters of Holocaust survivors, Barbara Weigen Bergren and Ruth Finkel Wade share their fathers’ stories.

We have a calendar filled with events and activities you can plan for in advance. Click the button below to bookmark ideas for upcoming date nights, family outings, and time with friends.

100+ MORE EVENTS

Weather

66º | Partly cloudy | 4% chance of rain

Sunrise + Sunset

Rise: 7:21 a.m.
Set: 6:01 p.m.

Tides
Old Tampa Bay

High: 2:54 a.m. + 5:44 p.m.
Low: 10:46 a.m. + 9:20 p.m.

Clearwater Beach

High: 1:42 p.m.
Low: 6:58 a.m. + 6:25 p.m.

Transit

Board members voted to dissolve the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transit Authority Friday. Now, the decision heads to the state legislature. Then, if Gov. Ron DeSantis signs a bill to dissolve the organization, TBARTA could cease operations spring 2024. (Tampa Bay Business Journal)

Education

The National Science Foundation recently gave the USF MUMA College of Business a $4.4 million grant to amp up the school’s cybersecurity program. The money will fund 28 scholarships over the next five years — with the hope of filling cybersecurity roles across Florida. 💻 (Tampa Bay Business Journal)

Development

Plans for SKY St. Pete, a 20-story St. Pete residential building, are coming to fruition. DevMar Development purchased 1624, 1642, 1650, and 1662 Burlington Ave. N. within the EDGE District for $4.5 million. Plans for the building include a coworking space, rooftop bar, and more than 200 residential units. (Tampa Bay Business Journal)

Civic

Pinellas County leaders are discussing expanding the Property Assessed Clean Energy program for developers. The county may use the loan program that incentivizes clean energy upgrades to convince developers to build affordable housing. (Tampa Bay Times)

Opening

Ready to dig into some spicy tuna or maybe a little chicken gyoza ramen? Internationally-popular chain Wagamama opens Sat., Feb. 11 in Water Street Tampa. The restaurant will be the modern Asian spot’s first Florida location. Check out the menu online. 🍜
511 Franklin, a new neighborhood bar — where everyone will soon know your name — recently opened. The downtown Tampa spot (511 N. Franklin St.) will serve patrons 23 and older locally-themed cocktails, beer, wine, and light dishes. (Creative Loafing Tampa Bay)

Announced

Calling all dairy devotees. The Melting Pot is coming back to St. Pete. This time, the fondue joint will be located at 695 Central Ave., right next to the Morean Arts Center. The 16,000-sqft building is set to undergo major renovations beginning next month + an opening date has not been announced. (St. Pete Rising)

Sports

There’s no need to travel to enjoy the Grapefruit League this year. The Rays are playing almost all of this spring training season right here in St. Pete. Tickets are on sale now to watch the team take on the Braves, Red Sox, Phillies, and more.⚾ (I Love the Burg)

Transit

Taking an afternoon stroll down 4th Street will soon be a lot safer. The Florida Department of Transportation is adding curb-bulb outs, which slow traffic and give pedestrians more room, to ten intersections on the busy St. Pete street. The $2.7 million project should be completed by early 2024. 🚶 (Bay News 9)

Travel

Scott’s Cheap Flights is going, going...Going. The travel membership that saves you hundreds on flights has a new name, and in honor of the rebrand, you can get 30% off a Premium membership with code 6AMCITY30. What you’ll get: last minute weekend trips, mistake fares, and early deal alerts. Hurry — this offer ends tomorrow, Jan. 24. ✈️*

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Tampanians, feast your eyes on this

Plans for Ybor Harbor submitted

Screen Shot 2023-01-20 at 3.20.55 PM.png

The development would sit right alongside the water. | City of Tampa

Another massive new development is on the way to Downtown Tampa. Darryl Shaw, the co-founder of BluePearl Veterinary Partners and millionaire investor, filed plans with the City of Tampa last week for Ybor Harbor, a new mixed-use development that would help connect the city + provide tons of new amenities, Tampa Bay Business Journal first reported.

The 33-acre development would connect parts of Ybor City, Channelside, and Water Street and feature 350+ hotel rooms, 2,500+ housing units, retail space, public piers and boat docks, and more. The property would be Shaw’s second downtown development, alongside the Gas Worx project.

The site has been discussed as a potential new home for the Rays, but a baseball stadium was not included in the plans.

Downtown Tampa is constantly building up — and filling in more densely these days. Read more about Tampa’s next development phase here.

THE WRAP

Today’s issue was written by Bailey.

Editor’s pick: I stopped in a few new local eateries this weekend. But my favorite was Ponte in Midtown Tampa. I tried the...

Missed yesterday’s newsletter? We’ve got all the tips for biking safely in Tampa Bay.

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Editorial: Brad Haft, Bailey LeFever, Jessalin Heins-Nagamoto, Emily Shea, Dayten Rose, Sarah Leonhardt, Katie Smith | Send us a scoop, question, or feedback.

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